Finale - RADIOACTIVE Clock Radio Project - 1951 Vacuum Tube Radio GE 512F Part 3/3 [4K]

"The World's Most Useful Radio!, some say", according to GE in 1951.Let's go through it carefully and see if we can fix it up.
PLEASE NOTE: this clock has hazardous radioactive paint on the hands. If you do anything I do here, which I do not recommend, do your own research on the hazards and you are at your own risk. This is not instruction on how to be safe with these clocks, simply entertainment of seeing me work on this one and my experience. See Part 2 for more discussion on the dangerous radioactive aspects of this clock radio.
In this video we complete the restoration we are going to do on this 1951 GE Clock Radio. In Part 2 we tackled the Telechron clock as a separate project inspired by the research and information mainly from ‪@WardCo‬ (thanks Ward) in his two interesting videos listed here.
• Telechron Clock H3 Rot...
• 1950s GE Radio Clock R...
This banged up vacuum tube radio was picked up in a box of 5 other trashed radios in similar or worse condition, mainly for parts. But just maybe we can get this one to not only work, but work well. Plus, it has a super power.
See the checklist which appears, when status changes, for tracking what is discovered that needs addressing in Red, followed by Green when resolved.
This is the third and last part of a video series on this radio. Please take a look at the Playlist for this radio where other parts will be listed as they are released. They will follow topics of the road to recovery for this clock radio.
NOTE: This is not instruction, it is for entertainment for people like me who enjoy watching projects and the experiences gained. If you attempt to do any of the things in this video you are at your own risk. I am using special tech-bench safety equipment not detailed here so don't take for granted you can just plug these old items in safely without them being checked and repaired correctly. Check out the link below to Mr Carlson's Lab video below.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND REFERENCES:
[note: am in no way representing how these folks have shown doing these things - I don't even think they would approve.]
Thanks to ‪@WardCo‬ for his excellent videos on these clocks and his method for servicing the Telechron rotors.
Other interesting sites on the topic (just a few, in no particular order):
telechronclock...
telechron.net/...
Awesome discussion of bench safety including variacs and isolation transformers by ‪@MrCarlsonsLab‬ Mr Carlson's Lab (highly recommended):
• Tech Tips Tuesday, Iso...
Thanks to shango066 for championing the approach of "fix it first", before mass re-capping. See shango066 for many examples of that approach.
‪@shango066‬
Modification method for a commercial Tripp Lite isolation transformer for tech-bench use by Todd Harrison, his channel is called ‪@ToddFun‬
• ToddFun.com: Isolation...
1951 Ad: Saturday Evening Post
Schematic: Nostalgia Air
Camera: Canon G7X Mark III
Mic: Rode Micro
Video Editing Software: Power Director
People interested in the following topics may be interested in this subject matter: 1950s radios and clock radios, Telechron clocks, radium hands, Telechron alarm function, GE AA5 radios, clock servicing, tube radio repair, tube radio restoration, vacuum tube radio recapping

[@hestheMaster]

Such an extensive bunch of repairs but you handled them all very nicely and made it as safe to operate as possible. These
GE alarm clock radios came in a bunch of different colors and I would have not hesitated covering up any cracks with
a body filler , sanding it and painting it in an off white , red ( my favorite ) or whatever color they came in. That chunk on
the side missing can be replaced by thick plastic cut to fit and glued with a backing and treated the same as the crack on
top. A company called Microscale makes an HO scale train decal ( 87-607) that would fit perfectly where the original name was on the front. Keep cool down there in "hotter than hell" Texas! It was 101 F down there the day I watched this, yikes!
Great trio of videos on it!

[@PracticallyFixed]

Thanks Steve. Drinking lots of water.

[@tubeDude48]

I would have used liquid tape for the wholes in the speaker.
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Yes, you are correct on which side to wire the plug! I see so many do it the WRONG way!! 👍

[@olens.6987]

NICE!

[@PracticallyFixed]

Thanks!

[@tubeDude48]

Also see: Jim Burns You mentioned Eureka, is it the one located in Calif.? If so, I'm in Crescent City, 85 mi. North of you!

[@PracticallyFixed]

Yes I am a Subscriber to Jim, in fact he is mentioned in the next video series.
I must have drawled my words, I am in Texas. We do have a Eureka in Tx, but we are closer to Cut and Shoot, Tx. 🙂

[@tubeDude48]

@@PracticallyFixed - Got it!

[@thomas-i5o7h]

The new yellow caps you installed, are they mylar ?

[@PracticallyFixed]

Polypropylene